Customer ReviewsforFredericksburg Deck Builders Inc

I just need to warn anyone who is considering contracting FDB to build your deck. Don’t do it. It’s not worth the amazing amounts of stress and you will have to navigate so many lies, excuses and delays you will just wish by the end of it that you had never even wanted a deck. There were many times during the **more than a year** it took this clown show to finish my deck that I just wished for a time machine to go back to a time before I knew the company existed. It started from the very beginning when they lied about the timing of filing for a permit (as if I don’t have a way to check the public records), giving themselves nearly an extra month delay before even letting me know they were thinking about starting the project. At every stage there was reason to be worried that the project was being done right. Even from the time the first crew arrived to dig holes for the forms, there were issues of not following the site plans and I had to intervene—often left to use ****** Translate or just demand a call back to the supervising foreman because there was almost never a foreman on-site. Because we had opted for a spiral staircase, the plans required an extra form to be poured and it was to be of a significant size to handle the weight of the staircase’s central column. The crew didn’t dig it at all and were packing up to leave when I questioned them about it. After arguing with their boss, they begrudgingly agreed to dig the hole. It was like this every (mis)step of the way: agreed-upon plans being ignored and having to be undone; a rain guard system that leaked continually. Lights that intermittently (to this day) go dark or just blink. Boards left insecure that flex and sink when you walk across them. Supposedly sealed screen porch with gaps for pests everywhere. Bent stair rails that they actually suggested Bondo repairs to. Touch-up paint that looks like silly putty. Faded paint that comes off on your hand: that’s the short list. Just stay away!

******, your experience with us over a year ago was out of the ordinary and your project itself was multi-faceted with an aluminum spiral staircase, concrete and flagstone patio, Trex deck and rails, and rain system with a screened in patio, that had electrical and plumbing work, plus landscaping. We started the build of your project less than 3 months after the contract was signed which was well within our contract and completed, minus the sod we added as a change order specifically to be installed during the spring, within the bounds of our contract as well. The spiral staircase we did for you was our first one of that make and based on our experience with your project we no longer do staircases of that type due to issues that were experienced on your project that we worked through to the best of our ability. Everything was built according to code, the plans, and our contract. Your project was completed over a year ago and as of earlier in the week we had not had any contact with you regarding any issues, which you stated you have been having an issue with the lights and the transformer. We directed you to the Trex Warranty process to file a claim for it as we registered your deck, staircase, rails, and lights. Trex as a company will support us with that claim as we one of their backed contractors at the highest level. It was after we directed you to them for the warranty that you posted this review. Everything we did for you was done within the bounds and parameters of our contract and we went over and above at the close of the job to address any concerns that you had and while there were issues that had to be addressed due to the complexity of the build, the finished results were per plans and per contract and to your stated satisfaction at that time.

"******, your experience with us over a year ago was out of the ordinary and your project itself was multi-faceted with an aluminum spiral staircase, concrete and flagstone patio, **** deck and rails, and rain system with a screened in patio, that had electrical and plumbing work, plus landscaping." Yeah, a complicated project that you assured us was well within your ability when it cam time to make the sale. I asked over and over again if you were sure you could handle the spiral staircase, and you seemed pretty keen on it. Nobody forced you to take the job. "We started the build of your project less than 3 months after the contract was signed which was well within our contract and completed, minus the sod we added as a change order specifically to be installed during the spring, within the bounds of our contract as well." I'm confused. Was it typical or not? First you want to talk about how complex it was, and then you want to act like it was well within what you consider to be normal. Let's not act like the sod was somehow the reason we were still dealing with you more than a year later. You were still trying to figure out why the rain gutter was leaking, why lights were going out randomly, and why stair treads were just popping off leaving exposed screws. You guys made everything look difficult, and if I hadn't been working from home so much during this time, who knows what would we would have right now. I also lost count of the number of times during this process when you (Josh) or Mike told me by phone or email that you'd be out to talk with me and then you either didn't show up at all or you snuck in and snuck out without letting me know you were there only to claim later that you were all caught up and I shouldn't worry. Or I would just get some diatribe about how you had kids to take care of so you just couldn't. Listen, dude. I told you over and over again that I was perfectly happy to accommodate your personal issues if you would just take two minutes to communicate. You are incapable off communicating and that's why it's come to this. I don't write reviews....ever. I just figured I'd reach out to you directly and give the company a chance to make good on shoddy electrical work and your answer was to tell me to pound sand. So here we are. "The spiral staircase we did for you was our first one of that make and based on our experience with your project we no longer do staircases of that type due to issues that were experienced on your project that we worked through to the best of our ability." Well I guess the best of your ability turned out to be the issue then, because I'm still dealing with the fallout. The only parts I'm happy with are the parts you subcontracted to other companies. "Everything was built according to code, the plans, and our contract. Your project was completed over a year ago and as of earlier in the week we had not had any contact with you regarding any issues, which you stated you have been having an issue with the lights and the transformer." I have the receipts, my friend. I have emails that went with no response for weeks. The fact that you have a catch-all email system that doesn't even allow people to email a foreman directly is already a problem because there's no way for a customer to even know if their email was seen or not. If you do see it, you don't bother following up. The only reason it was built to code at all was because I was paying attention, because YOU weren't. As I pointed out at the beginning of my first account, your crew wouldn't have even dug a hole for the larger staircase form if I hadn't been there to point it out. If I hadn't done that, let's not pretend like the concrete guys would have noticed, and then what other dangerous conditions would we be dealing with today? I have videos. I have pictures. I have documents. So you can stop with the act. "We directed you to the **** Warranty process to file a claim for it as we registered your deck, staircase, rails, and lights. **** as a company will support us with that claim as we one of their backed contractors at the highest level. It was after we directed you to them for the warranty that you posted this review." Precisely. I wanted to see if you would stand behind the poor electrical work and do something about it. Can we at least agree that, one year on my lights shouldn't be blinking like a carnival ride? It was at this point that I felt compelled to share my experience with anyone who might be thinking about making the same mistake I did. "Everything we did for you was done within the bounds and parameters of our contract and we went over and above at the close of the job to address any concerns that you had and while there were issues that had to be addressed due to the complexity of the build, the finished results were per plans and per contract and to your stated satisfaction at that time." If you use "over and above" to describe your part of this relationship, I consider that to be nothing short of laughable. Again...I have the receipts. To say that I stated any kind of satisfaction is also hilarious. I would describe it more as a hostage situation that I was finally just looking to be free from. Also, if you can't handle the complexity of the build, don't take the job. It's not like I was changing requirements along the way. All I wanted was what was promised, and I'm still left waiting for that. I feel badly for future customers who have to be treated like I am being treated now. I feel badly for your crews who are mostly left to fend for themselves. When I do call **** to have them address these issues, I hope they come and see for themselves the quality of the work.